We have given many reminders for current students planning to continue at Pelkhil School to pay their first installment to confirm their seats. A large number of students have still not done so. We would like to make this final reminder that fees must be paid if you plan to continue. The last [...]

We have given many reminders for current students planning to continue at Pelkhil School to pay their first installment to confirm their seats. A large number of students have still not done so. We would like to make this final reminder that fees must be paid if you plan to continue. The last deadline is 9th February.

After 9th February, the seat will be treated as vacated and offered to new applicants. After 9th February, all old students will be required to submit fresh applications and admission shall be considered purely on merit and seat availability. Please treat this as the final notice.

CE Students Confirmation

All Class XI CE students planning to continue at Pelkhil are asked to confirm their seats by 9th February. With just 1 section in each stream, we will not be able to retain the seats for those who have still not confirmed their seats.

Transfer Certificates

Students who have not been able to maintain academic standards are asked to collect their TCs from the school office.

]]>http://pelkhil.edu.bt/?feed=rss2&p=49100INFORMATIONhttp://pelkhil.edu.bt/?p=4869
Sat, 10 Jan 2015 13:23:08 +0000http://pelkhil.edu.bt/?p=4869The school is closed for the winter break so please note the following:

The School Office shall open from 02 February, 2015 and will remain open from 9am-3pm. Admission Forms will be available. The School will open on 10th February. All teachers will report. See the calendar link above for the full year calendar. If [...]

The Prime Minister Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay launched the first iSchool initiative at Pelkhil School, Thimphu on March 29, 2014.

The iSchool Project was launched in cooperation with the Royal Government of Bhutan, Ministry of Education, Ericsson India and Bhutan Telecom Limited with the aim to make quality education accessible [...]

The Prime Minister Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay launched the first iSchool initiative at Pelkhil School, Thimphu on March 29, 2014.

The iSchool Project was launched in cooperation with the Royal Government of Bhutan, Ministry of Education, Ericsson India and Bhutan Telecom Limited with the aim to make quality education accessible to all students studying in remote areas of Bhutan.

In his address at the launch, Lyonchhen said that the event is about private and government schools, corporate sectors in Bhutan and multinational corporations coming together and collaborating in harmony. Lyonchhen congratulated and thanked MoE for recognising and spearheading this new era of education.

Embracing this idea and rendering full support toward revolutionising the education system through ICT enabled learning environment will significantly uplift the quality of education in Bhutan, Lyonchhen spoke at the launch.

Lyonchhen stated that the launch of iSchool, implemented with a vision for making quality education accessible to students across Bhutan, marked the cutting edge of technology and education. Lyonchhen announced that iSchool initiative would spread throughout the country and all students in Bhutan would be able to interconnect and learn from each other.

Lyonchhen commended MoE and the partners for making this initiative possible and making iSchool a reality in Bhutan.

As a part of the program, Lyonchhen also launched the iClassroom and iSchool website.

Chris Houghton, Head of Region India, Ericsson said that the iSchool project is expected to bring the benefits of ICT for all students in Bhutan as well as other parts of the world. Interactive lessons will be given via live video conferencing and will allow for real-time engagement between students and faculty of various schools.

Ericsson has deployed video conferencing solutions and technology across one master school and five other participating schools. With Pelkhil School identified as the master school; Khasadrapchu, Khuruthang, Bajothang, Phuentsholing and Tendu schools are also participating in this electronic learning initiative.

The Prime Minister and Mr. Houghton also signed the MoU for implementation of iSchool project between Bhutan Telecom Limited, Ericsson India Pvt. Ltd. and MoE. Bhutan Telecom is providing high-speed broadband connectivity to connect all these schools.

]]>http://pelkhil.edu.bt/?feed=rss2&p=47821OUR ENGLISH PROFICIENCY CONUNDRUMhttp://pelkhil.edu.bt/?p=4769
Wed, 26 Feb 2014 03:03:13 +0000http://pelkhil.edu.bt/?p=4769When the former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra visited Bhutan in 2008, he marveled at how well-spoken the average Bhutanese was in the English language. He had good reason to be impressed because back in Thailand as we all know, the Thai language is all one hears.

]]>When the former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra visited Bhutan in 2008, he marveled at how well-spoken the average Bhutanese was in the English language. He had good reason to be impressed because back in Thailand as we all know, the Thai language is all one hears.

As a result of the Thai PM’s visit, today Bhutanese teachers are being invited to teach English in Thailand, and talks are already underway of Thai students visiting Bhutan to immerse themselves in the English language.

The conundrum then is the more than obvious shortcomings we can see in our own command of the language. Never mind high school students, even college graduates struggle to string together a coherent sentence while being interviewed on television. Worse still are the self-defeating job application letters that most potential employers receive from our fresh graduates.

The latest talking point is the woeful English result in the annual exam for grade 12 students. The average score was just 49.29%. Is this our reward after 13 years of education in English?

Before we go pointing fingers however, it should be understood that our results are not ‘normalized’ to account for variations in difficulty of the paper. Normalizing is usually done against the average scores of the past 30 years. In our system therefore, sometimes the results in a subject can be through the roof, and at other times hit rock bottom, as it did this year for English.

That said, it is still obvious that our command of the language is poor. Those who watch BBS know what we are talking about. But those in the Education sector, who deal directly with students, know this in a much deeper way.

Our lack of English proficiency has been blamed on many factors from teacher competency to inappropriate emphasis on only parts of the syllabus, poor reading habits and/or lack of reading opportunities.

However, another significant factor could be our less-than-enthusiastic adoption of English as our real medium of communication in the school.

Walk into any classroom, from Class PP to Class XII and you will find teachers teaching in English but after the bell rings and the students rush out to play, everyone switches back to the language they are most comfortable with, which most of the time, is not English. When they return to the classroom, the English speaking environment, they rarely open their mouths again. So where is the practice?

Strangely enough, even English teachers can be found speaking more comfortably in another language.

If, for the average person at least, language proficiency can be considered a ‘zero sum game’ where mastery in one language will be at the cost of every other, then it follows that English teachers at least, should be speaking and even thinking in English.

There is an extensive body of research showing that students who assume responsibility for their own learning are more motivated, more self-reliant and more effective learners. Unfortunately, we often brush these facts aside when we discuss strategies to improve education. In fact, [...]

]]>Personal Responsibility, Parental Involvement and Success in School

The Importance of Student Responsibility

There is an extensive body of research showing that students who assume responsibility for their own learning are more motivated, more self-reliant and more effective learners. Unfortunately, we often brush these facts aside when we discuss strategies to improve education. In fact, the United States is one of the few countries in which teachers and school administrators are singled out when students fail to achieve. Many acknowledge the importance of parental involvement and personal responsibility and effort as prominent factors affecting a student’s success or failure in school. However, the nation largely ignores these factors in discussions about educational reform.

In our efforts to improve public education, we often turn first to the institution of public education itself and suggest all sorts of changes. Over the past few decades reform proposals have included some of the following: longer school days and school years; smaller class sizes; site-based decision-making; smaller schools; decentralization; mayoral takeover of large districts; leaner school and district bureaucracies; integrated instruction; tracking; charter schools; vouchers; increased accountability; magnet schools; alternative schools; standards-based education; higher standards; performance assessments; project based learning; direct instruction; better professional development for teachers; improved teacher preparation programs; alternative routes to certification; merit pay; student test based teacher evaluations; eliminating teacher tenure; creating new teacher evaluation systems; reforming teachers’ unions; test-based school accountability; closing “failing” schools; and having low-performing schools taken over by the state or by private companies.

In few if any of these approaches do we see a systematic effort to integrate parental or community support to assist children with their education.

The Importance of Parental Involvement

When students are motivated and take responsibility for their education, the source of that motivation is almost always the child’s family/parent(s). Anne Henderson, of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, is recognized as one of the foremost experts on the effects of parent involvement on student success in school. In April, 2010, she testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and made the following observations:

The evidence is clear—schools cannot close the achievement gap without partnering with families. Over 40 years of research has demonstrated that engaging families in their children’s education improves student achievement, attendance, and behavior, and increases graduation rates. Children spend 70 percent of their waking hours outside of school, and how they spend that time is critical to their success in school. Modest investments in increasing families’ knowledge and skills to support learning can leverage our larger investment in teacher quality and school improvement. Despite this strong evidence, there is a lack of capacity at the state, district, and school level for engaging families, and federal and state policies offer few incentives to remedy the situation.

Teachers have repeatedly identified parent involvement as one of the most important ways to improve education, yet they also list parent engagement as the area where they feel least prepared and least satisfied with their own performance. Instead, schools often commit “random acts of parent involvement”— —a back to school night or a flyer home on parent teacher conferences. Rather than focusing on scaling up innovative, research-based practices that engage families, districts and states tend to direct their resources toward monitoring compliance with the law.

In a 1996 publication that is still relevant today, Henderson nicely summarized what is known about the importance and value of parent involvement in the education of their children. Significant points are included below.

• If low-income parents are involved in their child’s preschool program, students at age 19 are 40 percent more likely to graduate from high school, 35 percent more likely to be employed, 55 percent less likely to be on welfare, and 40 percent less likely to have been arrested.

• The most effective parent involvement programs are guided by these ideas: all parents have strengths and know they are important; all parents can contribute to their children’s education and the school; all parents can learn how to help their children in school; all parents have useful ideas and insights about their children; parents should be consulted in all decisions about how to involve parents; and all parents really do care deeply about their children.

• Families whose children do well in school often have common characteristics, they: establish a daily routine; monitor their children’s out-of school activities; model the value of learning, self-discipline, and hard work; express high expectations for their child’s success; encourage learning and progress in school; stay in touch with their child’s teachers; read, write, and have frequent conversations; and use community resources like libraries, recreation centers and after-school programs.

• When parents are involved at school, children’s’ attitudes toward school improve: kids who do well in school feel they have some control over their life; they feel that if they work hard, they will learn and do well, and they believe that other people will recognize and reward them (they know they are somebody).

Common sense tips for parents

There are hundreds of websites devoted to helping parents become more involved in the education of their children. Many are hosted by schools; others are supported by child and parent advocacy 0rganizations. Examples of some of the more common recommendations follow.

• Create a positive attitude toward learning. Get to know your child’s teachers, and work with them.

• Establish high (yet reasonable) expectations for your child. Remind your child that success in school is mostly due to hard work and that success is not a matter of luck or “being born smart.”

• Discuss what happens in class and in school. Know what your child is learning.

• Read aloud to your children when they are young. Listen to them read. Encourage them to read as they get older. Discuss what you read. Take your children to the library.

• See that your children do their homework. Set aside a special place for homework (not in front of the television set) and make sure homework is done on a regular basis; get involved in your child’s homework. Assist your child, but don’t do the homework.

• Help your children pursue interesting activities outside of school.

• For older students, limit employment during the school year. Research shows that when students work more than about 15 hours each week, their grades begin to suffer.

• Limit television viewing. Research shows that U.S. children watch more television than children in nearly all other countries. Research shows that students who watch a lot of television don’t do as well in school.

• See to it that your child starts each day with a good breakfast.

• Make sure that your child arrives at school on time and consistently attends school.

]]>Students seeking to repeat class XII at Pelkhil are welcome to apply. The terms are as follows:

PCA Candidates must bring the following documents:

BHSEC XII results

Fully filled application form (available at office) Nu.100

Transfer Certificate & Character Certificate

Applications may be submitted from Monday, the 3rd of February. The office is open from 9:30AM – 1:00PM from 3-9 February.

Please submit the application along with the payment of first semester’s fees to confirm your seat.

PCNA candidates will be interviewed by the Admission Committee after 10th of February, and their decision will be final. PCNA candidates from Pelkhil School must also submit a fresh application. All candidates must furnish the following documents:

BHSEC XII results

Fully filled application form (available at office) Nu.100

Transfer Certificate & Character Certificate

BCSE (X) Results

The internal school marks of class 11

Candidates accepted by the Admission Committee may submit the application to the office with the first semester’s fees.

CE candidates are welcome to apply for admissions at Pelkhil School. Candidates must have completed the BCSE at least 12 months earlier to be eligible. Please submit the following documents:

Fully filled application form (available at office) Nu.100

BCSE (X) Results

The fees are the standard fees authorized by the Ministry of Education. Science candidates will have to pay an additional lab fee.

Bhutan Council for School Examinations and Assessment declared the class XII results today at 3pm in Phuentsholing.

Jitendra Chettri, also a Science student from Ugyen Academy HSS scored 87 percent to come second while Yangchenphug HSS’s Science student Pema Euden came third by scoring 86.50 percent.
Yangchenphug HSS’s Dechen Rabyang scored 83.50 percent to top the Commerce stream. Mendha Wangmo, also from Yangchephug HSS scored 83.30 percent to be the second topper among Commerce students while Ugyen Academy HSS’s Thinley Wangmo came third by scoring 82.50 percent.

Dorji Wangchuk from Nangkhor HSS scored 85.30 percent to top the Arts stream. Damphu HSS’s Pema Choden scored 84.80 percent to come second while Orong HSS’s Esori Maya Waglay came in third by scoring 81.50 percent.

Karma Phuntsho from Taktse HSS scored 84.29 percent to top the Language and Cultural Studies Certificate Examinations (LCSCE), 2013. Jangchuk from the same school came second by scoring 80 percent while Ngawang Choden also from Taktse, came third by scoring 79.14 percent.

Individual candidates can access their statement of marks from the BCSEA website http://www.bcsea.bt and also through SMS by using their individual index numbers.